Fuji Pulls Flawed X-Pro1 Firmware 3.0 – Golden Marketing Move

Fuji pulled the X-Pro1 firmware version 3.0 due to a flaw in the movie mode. Today’s post is not about the photographic quality of the X-Series, but rather the reason that Fuji has made the X-Series the best camera on the market today. I may be stretching, but I don’t believe by much.

Am I saying that Fuji has flawless glass? Am I saying Fuji has the perfect digital format and the resulting images are better than the $20,000 large format digital cameras with Rolls Royce lenses? No to all those questions. However, Fuji has the customer service down pat. I would venture to say that no other camera company has customer service as well adapted as Fuji.

Based on my 25 year career in both business and the service industry, I can tell you that customer service is the most important for any company, any product and for any customer (client). In fact, an inferior product will win every time if the customer service beats the superior product.

No one is perfect and it is how a company and its leaders handle the flaws that make the difference. Fuji treat their customers with golden gloves and red carpets and they (we) keep coming for more. We demand more and they deliver. Consider this:

Fuji made a solid camera called the X-Pro1 and has not proliferated the market with the X-Pro2, X-Pro3 and so on. This means we purchased one camera body and we get to keep using it without having to purchase the latest, greatest model.

Fuji allowed us to update our X-Pro1 to the X-Pro2 and now the X-Pro3 for free by firmware updates, and each update has brought significant enhancements that most companies just add to the next model.

After delivering three very high quality lenses, especially the 35mm 1.4 (50mm in 35-speak), Fuji put a timeline out in front of us showing what lenses will be developed next and when they will be available. Oh yes, and so far, they have met that delivery schedule. Oh, and another thing, they have been adding really great lenses that we know they can deliver because of the 35mm 1.4 they gave us first.

Fuji’s communication with their customers (with us) is frequent, to the point and makes promises they deliver on. Consider the firmware updates. Fuji tells us what they are going to add and gives us rough time frames of when the firmware will be available. Consider the lens roadmap. Fuji has met development timeframes they post and keeps adding stellar lenses. Consider this last problem with firmware 3.0 for the X-Pro1. They immediately pulled it, apologized and I’m sure will post a fix soon. What other camera company does this so well?

Fuji’s golden marketing move, in my opinion, was this latest firmware 3.0 issue. Some have already complained that it got through quality control review with this problem. I agree that it would have been nice, but if there is to be a problem, I’d rather it be with firmware. That is delivered for free, 24 hours per day, over the internet and allows me to install it myself. I would rather that inconvenience as opposed to mailing my camera back to Fuji for a repair and waiting, waiting for it to come back ready to shoot again.

Fuji notified us immediately. Go back to number 4. They said, “I’m sorry.” They said, “We made a mistake.” They said, “We’ll fix it.” They even said, “If this caused a problem, we’ll help you get something to fix it until the new firmware is out.”

I know they will. They have delivered on everything else. In the meantime, I can keep taking photographs. I’m happy and everyone else should be too.